Out of the Ashes
by SteelCityMagnolia
Summary: A tragic accident threatens to take away one of our Rangers. Was it really just an accident or the result of somebody behind the scenes plotting something much more sinister? **STORY COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Walker, Texas Ranger characters within this story, nor is any ownership implied.**

Eight months of all the work, planning, and preparing for their wedding had come down to the final stretch. They were three days away from the big day and even the late September Texas weather had decided to cooperate. The heat and humidity that had covered the Dallas area like a blanket and brought intense daily storms was going to lift just in time; the weekend's weather forecast called for sunny skies and cooler, more comfortable temperatures.

Sydney's mood was just as sunny as the forecast. In three days, she'd be Mrs. Francis Gage. She could barely contain her excitement. In three days, she was getting her happily-ever-after with the man she had loved from the moment they had first met. Life couldn't be any more perfect. She had spent the afternoon with her two matrons of honor, Alex Cahill-Walker and Erika Trivette, and her bridesmaid, Gage's sister Julie, picking up their dresses after last-minute adjustments and pressing. As she drove back to her house, she sang along with the radio. Her happy thoughts and personal concert were interrupted by the ring of her cell phone.

"Sydney Cooke," she answered.

"Just think, Shorty, after Saturday, you get to answer that phone and say 'Sydney Gage,'" her fiancé's voice resonated on the other end of the line and Sydney smiled.

"I can't wait, baby," she replied, "how is today going?"

"I miss you! Trivette is a good ranger, but he sure isn't pretty to look at!" In the background, Sydney could hear their friend and fellow ranger Jimmy Trivette protesting over Gage's comment. "How did your day go?"

"I made the final arrangements with the florist and the girls and I picked up our dresses and shoes. Everything is all set, except for one possible tiny, little hitch."

"What kind of hitch?"

"Angela informed us that she no longer wants to be a flower girl, she wants to be Batman."

"Well, that's my girl! You did find her a Batman costume, didn't you?"

"Gage, there will be no tiny Batman at our wedding."

"See, there you go, all bridezilla over a two year old who thinks this is Halloween," Gage teased his bride-to-be. "It'll be fine, Syd. Alex will put her in the dress and she'll be happy. If not, she'll cry and everyone will think she's cute anyhow. You know she's going to steal the show. You're going to be upstaged on your wedding day by the cutest two year old ever."

"I know, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Hey, we're supposed to meet Julie at seven for dinner and she told me to tell you not to be late."

"Me, late? Now why would my dear sister say that?"

"Beats me, honey," Sydney laughed. Gage was not known for punctuality. "See you soon?"

"See you soon. I love you, Shorty."

"I love you more, baby."

Syd tossed her phone back onto the passenger seat just as she turned down her street. The parking space in front of her small house was – once again – occupied by her new neighbor's old Toyota. "Damn," she hissed under her breath. That was the third time this week. Now she was going to have to park in the alley behind her house and she really hated parking back there. There were rats in the alley and while not much creeped Sydney out, rats did. She was going to have to try to talk to her neighbor and remind him that he did have his own parking space in front of his own place and ask him to quit parking in her space. She'd worry about that later.

Sydney turned down the alley and pulled into the tight parking space behind her house. She cringed as she got out of her Jeep and saw a rat scurry underneath the fence that divided her property from her neighbor's. She retrieved her cell phone from the passenger seat and shoved it into her back pocket. Reaching behind the seat, she pulled out the pink garment bag that held her wedding gown and another bag that held the beaded satin shoes she'd be wearing as she walked down the aisle in just a matter of days. She bumped the Jeep's door shut with her hip and started up the steps of the narrow back porch to her kitchen door.

Wrestling with the heavy garment bag and the bag with her shoes, she tugged hard on the screen door. It always stuck, especially when the weather was so humid like it had been. She put her key in the lock for the kitchen door, but the door swung open easily; it hadn't been locked.

"That's odd," Sydney started to think as the sudden blast knocked her backwards off the porch and across the little bit of the back yard.

The explosion was so great that it lifted her Jeep, rolling it over on its side where it caught on fire. In a matter of seconds, it too, exploded. One of her neighbor's houses was knocked slightly off its foundation from the powerful blast; another was in flames. Her neighbor's old Toyota was also burning and soon caused a third explosion. The series of explosions were felt blocks away. In the center of it all, Sydney's house was a raging inferno.

The impact of the blast had blown Sydney backwards, propelling her tiny frame forcefully against the brick wall of the garage across the alley behind her house. She landed hard, debris falling all around her, including a large piece of metal she recognized as the hood of her Jeep that landed over her and tented itself against the cinderblock garage. She was vaguely aware of the intense heat from the fire. "So this is what it feels like to die," she thought, as a sense of floating overtook her, numbing the pain that wracked her petite body.

"Oh Gage, Gage, forgive me, baby, I'm so sorry," her mind drifted to black as her eyelids fluttered shut.


	2. Chapter 2

Gage and Trivette were stopped at a red light when they felt the car shake.

"Did you feel that?" Trivette asked.

"Yeah, that was weird. Earthquake, maybe?" Gage replied.

A few moments later, a call came over the radio: _All units respond, multiple explosions reported, West Elm area, Dallas Fire en route. Any units available for traffic control please assist._

"Gage, doesn't Syd live on West Elm?"

Gage made a quick left, hit the lights and siren, and gunned the engine. "Let's find out what's going on over there," he said, confident that whatever was going on surely didn't involve his fiancée.

Trivette keyed the radio mic. "Rangers Trivette and Gage responding, we are about 5 minutes away, we're going to check things out."

When Gage and Trivette arrived on the scene, what parts of the street hadn't been cordoned off were blocked by fire trucks and police cars. Thick, black smoke filled the air. Gage and Trivette jumped out of the car and ran toward the smoke. A fireman stopped them, "Sorry, men, you can't go down there."

Gage pointed to the badge pinned to his shirt. "Texas Rangers."

The fireman huffed disgustedly. "Alright, but stay out of the way. We have a mess here."

"What exactly happened?" Trivette asked.

"Not sure what caused it, but a house exploded. Just blew the hell up," the fireman answered. "The whole block is a mess."

Gage ran down the street toward Sydney's house, stopping to try to make out house numbers. Too many people were blocking his view of the neighboring houses, those that weren't damaged by the fire, so he started counting houses from the end of the block. No. Couldn't be. He counted again. Same result. He counted once more. Sydney's house – the cheery little bungalow with the uneven floors, the red and white kitchen, and the pink tile bathroom; the house where he had spent so many evenings with her curled up together on her couch watching movies; where they had first made love and then spent the rest of that bliss-fueled weekend in her bed; where he had proposed to her on her front porch at three in the morning; where they were going to start a life together after they were married on Saturday- that house was gone. Firemen were spraying water on the charred and smoldering remains. Only part of a brick pillar to the front porch and the brick chimney remained standing, though not by much. Everything else was gone. Gage closed his eyes and struggled to breathe, not from the smoke, but from the sheer effect of the disaster in front of him.

Trivette caught up to him. "Was that Syd's house?"

Gage could only nod in response.

"Oh, man. Where was she, Gage? Where was she going when you talked to her?"

"I think she was on her way home."

The remains of the car in front of what was Sydney's house were definitely too small to be her Jeep. Trivette ran down the street and rounded the corner, looking for Syd's yellow Wrangler. He started down the alley and went as far as he could before more firemen blocked his way. Even though he was a good distance away, he could see the burned frame of the Jeep turned on its side.

"Oh God, no," he whispered.

Trivette pulled out his cell phone and punched up Walker on his speed dial. At Ranger Headquarters, Walker answered at his desk.

"Walker, oh, God, Walker, it's bad."

"Trivette, what's wrong?"

"Sydney's house blew up. It's gone. Totally gone."

"Where's Syd?"

"We don't know, man. Her Jeep is here, but it looks like it blew up, too."

"Okay, I'm on my way. Where's Gage?"

"He's here with me."

"How is he?"

"I don't know, he seems to be keeping it together at the moment, however long that'll last."

"Okay. See if you can find Syd and find out what happened, and keep Gage calm. I'm on my way."

Trivette found Gage and told him he had found Sydney's Jeep in the alley.

"Maybe she's here, "Gage said, looking around hopefully. He started to ask onlookers if they'd seen anyone fitting her description. Nobody had. The more people he asked, and the more people who said they hadn't seen her, the more worried he got.

He walked up and down the street calling Sydney's name. As he came back down the street closer to her house again, something white in a neighbor's rosebush caught his eye. It was a piece of satin fabric, the edges charred. He turned it over in his hand and a ragged gasp escaped him. The fabric on the other side was covered in lace and tiny pearls and sequins. It had been part of Sydney's wedding gown.

By then, Walker had arrived and caught up with Gage and Trivette. As he spoke to them, assessing what they knew of the situation, one of the firemen walked up to them.

"Rangers? I'm Captain Lambert, fire inspector with the Dallas Third Ward Fire Department. I just wanted to let you know, we're handing this case over to the ATF and they'll have somebody here in the morning to continue the investigation."

"The ATF?" Walker questioned. "That's serious."

"Yes. We thought it was just an explosion caused by a gas leak, but we have reason to believe that there was also an accelerant involved."

"Captain, the woman that lived in the house, we think she was home at the time of the explosion," Walker spoke gently, "Has anyone found her?"

"I'm sorry, we didn't find anyone, and the fire," the captain stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "The fire was so hot that nobody would have survived and finding any remains would probably be unlikely. I'm so sorry."

Reality and grief hit the tall, blond ranger like a tidal wave. Gage dropped to his knees, sobbing like a baby. "Oh, Syd! Syd! No!" he cried, clutching the charred piece of Sydney's wedding gown to his chest.

After several minutes, Walker helped the junior ranger back to his feet. "Come on, Gage. Come back to the ranch with me. You can stay with Alex and me as long as you need."

"No. I can't go. Let me stay here just a bit longer. I need to stay here just a little bit longer," Gage choked the words out.

"It's okay," Trivette told Walker, "I'll stay with him and take him back to our place. Erika and I will take care of him."

Gage and Trivette sat in silence on the curb across from what once was Sydney's house for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Trivette stood up. "Come on, Gage, let's go. Erika's waiting for us. You should probably call Julie, too."

Gage sighed heavily. He and Syd were supposed to meet Julie at seven. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched up her number, but when she answered and he started to talk, he broke down again.

"Here," Trivette said, taking the phone, "I'll talk to her." He told Julie what had happened, and Gage could hear her screaming through the phone. Julie loved Syd and was so thrilled that she was marrying her brother. She was going to take this hard, too. Trivette gave her directions to his house and said they'd be there in about twenty minutes.

Trivette helped Gage to his feet and back to the car. Trivette navigated through the side streets of Dallas neighborhoods thinking how strange and wrong it was that people were going on, living their lives, cooking dinner, playing with their children, arguing with their husbands or wives; yet their lives had completely changed with the loss of one very special woman and the love of his friend's life. The feeling gnawed at him and he hated it. He especially hated it for his friend, who was hurting beyond anything Trivette could comprehend.

Gage was silent for the ride home. It was only when they pulled into the driveway of the house Trivette shared with his wife that he spoke. "She's gone, Jimmy. She was my whole world and she's gone."


	3. Chapter 3

When Sydney finally came to and struggled to clear the cobwebs out of her mind, she became acutely aware of three things: intense pain, insane thirst, and a chattering noise she couldn't quite place. She slowly sat up and looked around, trying to get her bearings. She had been hidden from view in tall weeds under a piece of sheet metal leaning against a brick building. It took her a moment to remember what happened. She recalled walking up the steps to her back porch, opening her kitchen door, and then all hell had broken loose. She pushed the sheet metal away, scaring the rat that had been the source of the chattering noise. Syd jumped. The sudden movement reminded her again of the piercing pain in her head and in her side. Dear God, what happened to her?

But pain was a good thing. It meant she was alive. As she surveyed the damage across the alley, that was a blessing. A huge blessing. What she saw across the alley looked nothing less than a war zone. Her burned-out Jeep, what was left of it, lay on its side. One house to her left looked all askew, its windows dark and hollow, its roof sinking in on itself. One house to the right, a burnt frame. Puddles of water and piles of smoldering debris lay everywhere. And in the middle, where her house should have been, was a smoking pile of ash and nothing. She sighed deeply and the pain in her side nearly blinded her. Not good. There had to be a broken rib or two in there. Slowly, she tried to make it to her feet. That brought on an entirely new wave of pain, this time from her leg. She looked down to see a piece of metal lodged in her left thigh, the surrounding fabric of her jeans soaked in blood.

She instinctively reached for her cell phone in her back pocket and found it there. Finally, something was going her way. She pulled the phone out of her pocket, hoping for the screen to light, but the screen was shattered. She touched at the screen hopefully. Even if she could get the phone to do something, she might be able to get some help. Nothing. The phone was useless. She threw the phone at the scurrying sound in the weeds and held her aching head in her hands. She had to get help, but first, she had to try to wrap her ribs and her leg. She limped along the garage's cinderblock wall to the open door and disappeared into the building's darkness.

Syd slowly made her way through the garage searching for rags or anything she could use to wrap her ribs and make a tourniquet for her leg. As she searched, she thought she heard voices. She eased her way back to the garage opening and saw two figures standing in the shadows in the alley. She tried to call to them but her parched throat wouldn't let her voice go above a whisper. Then she heard what they were saying.

"You're sure the bitch is dead?"

"I'm telling you, Victor, the stuff we got from the Iraqis was good stuff. Primo. Better than C-4. And I used more than what they said to use. She was dead the second she walked through her front door."

"Well, she better have been. I need to send those rangers a message for what they did to my father."

"Sí, Victor, but only she killed your father."

"Because she was the one my father wanted and she insulted him. Humiliated him. And then killed him. Killing her is a lesson to all those filthy rangers. You just need to be sure she's dead."

"Sí, Victor."

"I want you to lay low here Marco, check all the hospitals, make sure nobody found her. And if they did find her, if she's still alive, I want you to kill that bitch and all the rangers. Walker and his wife and kid. His partner and his wife. And the bitch's boyfriend. Especially him. You kill him nice and slow. No. No, you bring him back to me and I'll kill him nice and slow. That will be my pleasure."

Sydney gasped, the pain in her ribs reminding her it was still there. She pressed herself against the wall, making herself as small as she could in the darkness of the garage. Whoever was out there wanted her dead, and they were going to be checking to make sure she was.

She listened for the two pairs of footsteps to disappear down the alley and in the distance, a car engine started and faded away. She was in so much pain, but going to the hospital was not an option, they'd be looking for her there. If they found her, there was no question what they'd do to her friends and to Gage. The idea sickened her. She had to find help, but she couldn't let anyone know she was alive and put her friends and the love of her life in danger.

Sydney felt around her in the garage, her hands finally touching on soft fabric. She felt over her find for a moment and discovered it was a hooded fleece jacket. She started to tie it around her ribs but stopped. A hood. That might help disguise her until she could get somewhere to get help. She shrugged the jacket on and flipped the hood over her long, dark hair. She knew she'd attract attention if anyone saw her wearing a jacket on such a warm evening, but it might help her attract less attention from the two men she heard talking in the alley, should she see them again. Slowly, she eased into the alley, and, staying in the shadows as much as she could, limped toward the street.

Walking was much more difficult than she expected. Every breath sent a new pain ripping through her side, and her leg throbbed in protest with each step. Syd decided it was easier to stick to the alleyways where there were garages and trees to hide behind to rest.

Sydney made it eight blocks and found herself behind the HOPE Center. She was drenched with sweat and exhausted from pain. The wound on her leg had started bleeding again about three blocks back and she was getting too weak to continue, and she was so, so thirsty. She decided to try to break into the back door of the center. She knew it wasn't the wisest choice, but it was doubtful the men who wanted her dead would look for her there and maybe she could just rest there for a few minutes, get something to drink, and think about where she could go next.

Alex Cahill-Walker knew she should be home with her husband and daughter. It had been an awful, awful day – losing her closest friend in a horrible accident three days before her wedding. She promised as she left the ranch that she'd be back in no more than an hour. She had grant paperwork for the HOPE Center that had to be in the mail the next day, otherwise the center stood to lose much-needed funding for the next year. She felt terrible leaving home after what happened earlier in the day, so she decided to just grab the files she needed and take them back to the ranch.

As she was searching her desk for a report she had to send with the grant papers, she heard a noise at the back door. It stopped, and then she heard it again. Alex pulled the small pistol Walker had long ago convinced her carry from her purse and eased her way to the center's back door. The thumping noise stopped again, and then there was a loud thud as something or someone hit the bottom of the door.

"Who's there?" Alex called. "Who is it?"

From outside, she thought she heard a very faint call for help. She slowly pulled back the curtain on the back door window with the barrel of the pistol and looked out and saw nothing. There was one more thud against the door. Holding the pistol with one hand, Alex flipped the latch and opened the door with the other to find Sydney on the door step, clutching her side. Her leg was bleeding and her hair was sweat-soaked and matted around her face.

"Syd! Oh, dear God, Syd! You're alive! We all thought –"

"I know, and I need you to keep it that way," Syd struggled through pained breaths. "Someone tried to kill me and they're looking for me."

Syd told Alex what she heard from the two men in the alley as Alex helped her to a chair and got her a glass of water.

"But Syd, you need to get to a hospital. And we need to let Gage know you're okay. He's out of his mind."

"No. They're watching the hospitals. And we can't let anyone know I'm alive. Not yet." Sydney grabbed Alex's hands. "Promise me, Alex. You can't tell Gage. They'll kill him, too. I can't let that happen. I couldn't live with myself. Promise me. Promise," Sydney pleaded.

"Well, we at least need to tell Walker. Will you let me do that much?" Alex asked, her voice and eyes full of concern.

Sydney agreed.

When Walker arrived at the HOPE Center with a sleeping two year old on his shoulder, Sydney told him what she'd heard in the alley.

"You're right," Walker spoke thoughtfully. "We can't get you to a hospital, and I would bet money that they've been keeping a close eye on Gage, too."

"So where do we take her?" Alex questioned. "She needs help, Walker. She's lost a lot of blood from that leg wound."

"I have an idea. Remember my cousin David Jackson? Little Eagle? He's a doctor on the reservation. He can help Syd, and she'll be safe on the reservation until we can figure out who these people are and what they want."

"Alex, take Angela and go back to the ranch. I'll take Syd to see David. I'll be home as soon as I can. And Alex, don't tell anyone you saw Sydney here."

Walker kissed his wife and daughter and then carried Sydney out to his truck. They drove through the night to the Cherokee reservation, arriving at David Jackson's office, which was nothing more than a converted storefront on the dusty main street. David met them at the door and Walker carried Sydney inside, giving David a rundown of what happened to her as he did.

After about an hour, David came back out of the examination room. "How is she, David?" Walker asked.

"Well, considering what she's been through, she's surprisingly good," David replied. "She has a concussion, but no skull fracture, and two broken ribs. And she was very lucky. That piece of metal in her leg looked pretty bad, but it wasn't embedded deep enough to puncture her femoral artery. She has a few stitches, but she'll heal up quickly enough. I gave her something for the pain, too, so she ought to sleep comfortably tonight."

"Thank you, David. Now, I need one more favor. Is Uncle Ray's cabin still up in the woods?"

"It sure is. I go up there quite a bit. Just had electric run to it back in the spring."

"Good. We need to hide Sydney there for awhile until we can figure out who is after her."

"No problem, Walker. We can take her up there now and I'll stay with her tonight. She'll be safe there."

"Thank you, David," Walker shook his cousin's hand and went back to the examination room to collect Sydney.

Sydney was lying on an examination table with her eyes closed. She looked worn out.

"Syd. Sydney." Walker reached over and shook her arm. Sydney slowly opened her eyes.

"David and I are going to move you to a safe place here on the reservation. You're going to stay here until I can find out who is responsible for all this."

Walker and David helped her to the truck and they drove through the main part of town onto a dirt road that led into the woods. The rough road made Sydney catch her breath in pain more than once. Finally, the woods opened into a clearing with a small cabin.

"This is it," David said, jumping out of the truck and going ahead to unlock the cabin door. "It's not much, but it is warm and clean."

"Just so there aren't any rats." Sydney replied groggily. "Not a fan of rats."

"No rats," David laughed. "Plenty of squirrels and deer, though. It's quiet and you'll be safe here. There's some food and there's electricity and running water, but you'll need to use the outhouse out back. It's warm enough you won't need a fire, and I'll get you some clean clothes tomorrow when I go back to town."

"I'll be back tomorrow," Walker said. "Right now, let's get you something to eat and then you can get some rest."

"Not too hungry," Syd yawned. "I just want to sleep." She curled up on the bed and within moments was sound asleep. Walker threw a light quilt over her.

"Don't worry Walker," David reassured. "This is safe territory. There are good spirits here who will keep watch over her."

"I'm sure of that, Little Eagle," referring to David by his Cherokee name, "I'm sure of that," Walker tipped his hat to his cousin and slipped out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Gage sat at his kitchen table toying with the platinum wedding band he would have slid on Sydney's finger that afternoon. Every so often sunlight from the window caught one of the diamonds that encircled the band and shot rainbows onto the kitchen wall, not that he noticed. The days since the explosion at Syd's house had been a complete blur. He felt almost robotic, accepting phone calls and visits yielding condolences and hugs from friends and co-workers. Alex had suggested waiting a little while to before having a memorial service and that was fine with him. Anything that final right now was too much; he was too raw inside to deal with the church and the priest and a formal service and the permanence of goodbye.

His sister Julie set a cup of coffee in front of him. "Francis, why don't you come back to California with me for awhile, just to get away from all this?"

Gage ignored her.

"It might make you feel better," Julie added, trying to soothe, rubbing her hand over Gage's.

"Jules, I don't want to get away. I don't want to feel better. I want Sydney." Gage picked up the coffee cup in front of him and threw it across the kitchen. Julie flinched as it smashed against the wall, the dark liquid dripping and pooling on the floor below; shards of ceramic spraying across the room like confetti.

"I'll clean that up," Julie said quietly.

Gage grabbed Julie's wrist as she walked by him on the way to the sink to get a towel. "I'm sorry, Jules. It's just that everyone thinks I should do this thing or that thing and everything will be okay. Things won't be any more okay in California than here. Nothing is ever going to be okay again. I was supposed to get married today, for Christ sake. I should be dancing with Syd at our reception right now and we should be getting on a plane to Hawaii in a few hours to celebrate our honeymoon. I can't be okay. I'm. Not. Okay," Gage ended through gritted teeth, on the verge of breaking down for what felt like the thousandth time since the day Sydney's house exploded.

"I'm so sorry, Francis. I wish I could take all this hurt away. Sydney was such a special person."

"I can't do this anymore, Jules. I can't keep losing people I love. First mom and dad. Now Syd. How can this keep happening?"

"I don't know, Francis. I don't know." Julie cradled her brother's head to her chest, letting him break down one more time, wondering to herself just how much pain and grief a person could handle.

Monday at Ranger Headquarters, Captain Briscoe walked into the bullpen and straight to Walker's office with two federal agents in tow. Trivette had been sitting with Walker going over a case and stood to leave. Walker motioned him to stay.

"Walker, Jimmy, this is Agent Stants with the ATF, and Agent Westbrook with – "

"I remember who you are," snarled Walker, recalling the FBI agent that caused all the problems that led to him, Trivette, and Gage trekking across Mexico to rescue Alex and Sydney and clean up the whole Casa Diablo mess. "What do you want?" Walker had no love for federal agents, particularly this one, and the sooner he could get him out of his office, the better.

Agent Stants spoke up, "We finished our investigation at the site of Ranger Cooke's house over the weekend. The explosion was not just caused by a gas leak as the fire inspector first thought."

"He said they thought there was some type of an accelerant?" Walker questioned.

"Not an accelerant, an explosive." Stants replied.

"And not just any explosive," Westbrook interjected smartly. "The ATF team found traces of a highly volatile explosive most commonly used by Iraqi insurgent groups."

Briscoe looked puzzled. "How would an explosive used by Iraqi insurgents end up in Ranger Cooke's house? What kind of cases has she been working on, Walker, that somebody with those kind of contacts might have been targeting her?"

"Nothing that has a connection to Iraqi insurgents," Walker answered. "All of her recent cases have been wrapped up because she was supposed to get married Saturday and she was supposed to be off this week and next for her honeymoon."

Trivette looked thoughtful for a moment. "Didn't the FBI help bust up a drug cartel that was buying explosives from the Iraqis not too long ago?"

"What happened with that?" Walker asked Westbrook pointedly. "Or did you let them negotiate their way out of that one, too?"

"Based on our agents' good work, there are a lot of dealers and cartel members on both sides of the border sitting in jail right now. We had an agent embedded within the cartel who was able to get us records of weapons sales the cartel made to some rogue groups. We're going over those records to see if any of those sales may have included explosives, as well as trying to find out who they were buying the explosives from," Westbrook sounded pleased with himself that the operation had apparently gone smoothly.

"I want a copy of those records," Walker growled.

"Now, that is classified information, Ranger Walker." Westbrook gloated.

Walker slammed both hands down on his desk. "One of my rangers was targeted in a blast that was caused by an explosive that very few people have access to. You have information on who might have had that access and I have a right to investigate who might have targeted Ranger Cooke. You will get me that list of names or I'll get it myself, and trust me when I say you do not want me to do that. Am I clear?" Walker seldom raised his voice to anyone, but Westbrook was testing his patience.

"Yes, of course," Westbrook tugged at his collar. "I'll send it to you as soon as I get back to my desk. Gentlemen, I'm sorry for your loss," Westbrook motioned to Agent Stants, and left.

The next morning, Trivette was still poring over Westbrook's list of names of gang members, cartel leaders, and drug dealers, trying to cross-reference them in the system to see if any of them were tied to any of the cases the rangers had in recent history. So far, he had come up empty and he was getting frustrated.

"I don't know, Walker, I doubt we'll find anything on this list. Maybe Westbrook just sent us a list of crap just to be smart."

"I wouldn't doubt it, but keep looking," Walker told him. "There might be something there."

When Gage walked in, everyone was surprised.

"Welcome back, man," Trivette stood and hugged his friend warmly.

"You're supposed to be on leave," Walker reminded Gage.

"I know, but I couldn't sit in that apartment any longer. Julie had to get back to California for an assignment and it was just too quiet. I had to come back."

"I wish you'd take more time off, Gage, but okay. You're on desk duty, though." Walker clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome back."

Trivette gave Gage half of the list of names he was working on and explained what they were looking for in the database. He hoped with Gage's help they'd be able to make some headway, but quite a few times throughout the morning, he noticed Gage staring at Sydney's empty desk, lost in thought. Midway through the morning, Gage got up and went to the coffee pot. There was one lonely cup sitting next to it - Sydney's favorite cup. Gage picked it up and took it back to his desk. He saw Trivette watching him.

"It was her favorite, and nobody needs to be using it, that's all." Gage explained.

"It's okay, man, I get it."

"I just don't think anyone needs to be using it," Gage repeated.

"Gage, are you sure you're ready to be back here?" Trivette asked.

"I'm sure. I'm fine."

"Just checking, man, just checking.

Both rangers went back to work on their lists. Finally, a name on Trivette's list struck a note of recognition. "Walker! I think I found something! Does the name Victor Ortega ring a bell to you?"

"Could he be related to Cruz and Ramón Ortega?" Walker asked. Suddenly, what Sydney had told him about the men in the alley made sense. "See what you can find on him and see if there's any connection."

After a few minutes of searching databases, Trivette found what he was looking for. "Guys, check this out." Gage and Walker crossed the room to see what was on Trivette's screen. "Victor Ortega is Ramón Ortega's son. He's been floating around Texas trying to build up a drug smuggling operation. Been arrested a few times but there's never been enough evidence to hold him for trial." Trivette paged down the screen.

"Oh, and this is really interesting. Two of the major witnesses against him? Killed in explosions that were never really explained. One of those witnesses was an undercover FBI agent."

"Call Westbrook and get him in here," Walker growled. "Tell him I want everything they have on Victor Ortega. Tell him I want to know where he is these days and what he has for breakfast and what his shoe size is," Walker stormed back to his office and slammed the door.

Agent Westbrook was furious. How dare Walker demand information from him again. It was Walker's fault he was in the spot he was in, demoted from assistant director to agent, even though he was in charge of the Dallas office, probably the worst office the FBI had. If Walker would have just let him try to negotiate with the Ortegas, he would have gotten Alex Cahill and Ranger Cooke back, but no. Walker and his rangers had to go running across the border, guns blazing like it was the wild west. Sure, they got the women back, but they left behind a couple dead drug dealers and no way for the FBI to get any information out of them about their connections. All that hard work, and a bunch of gung-ho cowboys got the credit and he got demoted. He thought he fixed Walker when he sent him that list of names. He made sure to include the names of every small-time drug dealer and gangbanger that had so much as popped a Tylenol in the last three years. If they had made the FBI raise an eyebrow, they made the list. Let the damn rangers sort them out.

But somehow, they made the connection to Victor Ortega and now Walker wanted everything they had on him. He even went so far as to demand a meeting. Westbrook had been keeping an eye on Victor ever since the whole Casa Diablo disaster. Victor Ortega was his ticket to getting his old job back and damn if he was letting those cowboys take it from him. That's why he made sure to leave one name off the list. Marco Mendoza. Victor Ortega might be the one running the show, but Mendoza was the one with the connections, at least that's what the FBI's undercover agent had determined. Mendoza was the one they suspected of dealing directly with the Iraqis. Walker may have taken down Cruz and Ramón Ortega, but Westbrook and the FBI were calling dibs on Victor Ortega and Marco Mendoza.

So now Walker wanted information. Well, two could play that game, Westbrook thought. He'd give Walker some information. Some. He didn't have to show his whole hand. He called Walker and told him he'd drop by at the end of the day with a file on Victor Ortega.

Everyone had left the Company B Headquarters when Westbrook got there a little after five. Walker's door was slightly ajar and as he lifted his hand to knock, he heard Walker and his wife talking. He dropped his hand and listened.

 _"_ _A care package?"_

 _"_ _Well, I feel so bad, Walker._ _I know she has to be bored out of her mind up there._ _No TV, no internet access, no contact with her friends._ _I put a few of her favorite books in there, some magazines, chocolate, and this."_

 _"_ _Don't you think a picture of her and Gage will make Sydney feel worse right now?"_

 _"Walker, she's got to be missing him._ _If I were missing you, I'd like a picture._ _Trust me._ _It's a girl thing."_

That caught Westbrook's attention. Did he say Sydney? Did he mean Ranger Cooke? Wasn't she supposed to be dead? He listened extra-carefully.

 _"_ _I'll take this up to the reservation when I leave here after my meeting._ _I'll be home as soon as I can._ _Kiss Angela for me."_

The reservation. Westbrook quickly left Company B headquarters and headed down the hall. He stepped into the men's room, made sure he was alone, and made a quick phone call.

"Yeah, it's Westbrook. Listen, I need you to do something. Head out to the Cherokee reservation. Ranger Walker is going out there tonight. Tail him. Find out what he's doing out there and where he goes and get back to me."


	5. Chapter 5

FBI agents Lori Bennett and Mark Williams were in a predicament: How to get onto the Cherokee reservation and tail Ranger Cordell Walker without sticking out like sore thumbs. They traded their standard-issue work vehicle for Lori's less-conspicuous Chevy and changed into casual clothes. When they hit the road, they were Monica and Matt Willis, newlyweds on their way home for a family reunion. Just outside of the reservation, Mark pulled the car over and popped the hood. He loosened a couple of wires and limped the car onto the main street of the reservation. Looking exasperated, he stopped by a group of teenage boys playing basketball who eyed him suspiciously.

"Anyone know where I might find someone who can look at my car? We seem to have developed some engine trouble," he asked.

"Tom Whitefeather at the end of the street," one of the boys spoke up, pointing to a weathered wood-sided building at the end of the way. "He's my uncle. He can probably help you with your car."

Lori jumped out of the car, faking a panic attack. "Did you boys see a little dog? When we stopped just out the road to see what was wrong with the car, my little dog jumped out and ran! We looked but we couldn't find him! Did he come this way?"

The boys all looked at each other and shook their heads no but said they'd watch for a stray dog.

Lori and Mark got back in the car and headed down the dusty street. "A lost dog?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We need some excuse in case we have to go sneaking around here. We don't exactly blend, you know," Lori reasoned.

"Good call."

They pulled in front of the building the young boy indicated was his uncle's as Walker drove by them and on out towards the woods away from the main part of the reservation.

"And bingo," Lori said, "it's show time."

Mark went looking for Tom Whitefeather to see about repairs to the car, while Lori went on the search for her missing dog. As Mark and Tom looked under the hood, Lori pointed the direction Walker had driven and asked what was out that way.

"Nothing but woods and a few old cabins," Tom Whitefeather replied.

"Is it okay if I walk out that way? You see, our dog got loose and ran, and maybe he ran that way?" Lori put on her best please-help-me look.

"Sure, I wouldn't want my dog running around in those woods. Coyotes and all, you know."

Lori took off into the slowly fading sunlight, calling out for a dog that was never going to come.

A little over a mile out the dirt road, Lori saw where Walker had turned off into a clearing. She crept into the woods, trying to get a better look. Standing in beams of the truck's headlights stood Walker and a small woman with long, dark hair. Lori eased closer, kneeling in the brush to get a better look. The woman looked a lot like the female ranger who was supposed to have died in an explosion in her own home the week before. The story had been plastered all over the front page of every Dallas newspaper and had been the lead story on the local TV news for days afterward: a beautiful young Texas ranger tragically killed three days before her wedding.

The bigger story now, though, would be that perhaps the ranger was apparently not dead. She seemed to be limping a little, so she must have been injured; but if that was her standing there with Ranger Walker, she was certainly not dead, and Westbrook must have known something was up. Lori headed back toward the road and back to where Mark was waiting with the car. She needed to check in with Westbrook to tell him what she saw.

Sydney tore into the care package Alex had sent with the same reckless abandon of a five year old on Christmas morning.

"Oh, Walker, this is fantastic! Alex thought of everything!" Sydney exclaimed joyously as she pulled out a stack of celebrity gossip and fashion magazines. "Oh, and the latest Patterson novel! I've been wanting to read this, but with the wedding plans, I hadn't had any time! And my favorite!" Sydney held up the bag of chocolate candy.

Walker just smiled. Alex's thoughtfulness was just one of the many things he loved about her.

Sydney stopped cold, holding the picture frame that held the photo of her and Gage. The picture was familiar – the same photo had been in a frame on her nightstand and she knew Gage kept a framed copy on his dresser. She remembered the moment the picture had been taken. It was at the get-together at the Walker ranch just before Angela was born. Gage had been seated at the picnic table with Sydney standing behind him, teasing him about the amount of desserts on his plate. She had reached around him to try steal a bite off of his plate and had ended up cheek to cheek with him, her arms crossed over his broad chest in a hug, Gage's strong hands on her forearms. Just seconds before Alex had snapped the picture, Syd had reached up and dabbed a bit of whipped cream on the tip of his nose. Their smiles in the picture spoke volumes. Although it had been months before either one of them had spoken the words 'I love you,' the picture radiated the feelings between them so much that Sydney and Gage had chosen to use the photo on their engagement announcement.

Tears filled Sydney's dark brown eyes and she struggled to keep them from falling. "Walker, how's Gage doing, really?"

"He misses you, Sydney."

"I miss him too," Sydney sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I miss him so much. I hate this. I want this to be over."

"We're working on it. We have a good lead." Walker told her about Victor Ortega. "Now it's just a matter of finding him," Walker finished.

Sydney's stomach turned as she recalled the events at Casa Diablo and the thought of another Ortega, especially Ramón Ortega's son, still free and looking for her.

"I hope you find him soon, "Syd said, her voice just above a whisper. "I want to go home."

Two weeks had passed with no luck in finding Victor Ortega. Walker had discovered that much of the information Westbrook had given him about Ortega was useless, not that he had expected much else from the slimy FBI agent. With it all about guaranteed that they were getting no help from the feds in tracking down the elusive Ortega, the rangers were on their own.

Gage was growing more miserable by the day. His moods were unpredictable, and he rarely spoke to anyone. If he did, it was usually to snap somebody's head off for the littlest thing. When a well-meaning assistant moved Sydney's picture on Gage's desk to make room for a stack of files, Gage launched into a tirade and stormed out of the office. Trivette found him later in the rangers' gym, relentlessly pounding at a punching bag. Gage spent a lot of time in the gym these days. If anything, grief had him in the best physical shape of his life.

Walker made weekly trips to the reservation to check in with Sydney. His visits and the care packages from Alex were the highlights of her lonely weeks. She joked with Walker that it was a good thing she no longer had a wedding dress to fit into since Alex always remembered to fill the care packages with Syd's favorite treats. With nobody else but David Jackson knowing where she was and stopping in to visit her, the weeks were long and time was dragging. She prayed that a break in the case would come soon so she could get home and back to Gage.

A break finally came when Dallas PD sent over surveillance photographs for another case the rangers had been working on. There had been numerous complaints about a club called One Eyed Jack's, a nuisance bar that was a front for drug sales and prostitution on the seedier side of town, and the rangers were working to find out who was behind all the illegal activity. Trivette was studying the photographs when he noticed Victor Ortega in several of the shots. He pointed them out to Walker.

Walker looked over the photos. That was definitely Ortega, and in each shot, there was another dark haired man with him. Walker wondered if he could be the Marco that Sydney had told him about.

"Trivette, see if there's any way to identify who this man is with Ortega," Walker directed, already suspecting he could be the man Sydney heard in the alley, and hoping Trivette could come up with a name.

A few hours later, Trivette knocked on Walker's door. He had a name.

"Marco Mendoza. Wanted by the feds for a whole list of things including drug smuggling and illegal weapons sales. He's suspected of being the contact person that helped that drug cartel buy explosives from the Iraqis."

"If that's the case, I imagine he had something to do with the explosives in Syd's house, too. Convenient that Westbrook never brought his name up in conversation, isn't it?" Walker remarked sarcastically. "I think I need to go have a talk with our secret agent man. Trivette, you and Gage go check out One Eyed Jack's and see if Ortega and Mendoza are hanging around while I see what Westbrook has to say for himself."

Westbrook watched Walker leave, and when he was safely out of earshot, he slammed his door and began pacing. Westbrook had denied that the feds had anything on Mendoza, but the rangers already knew about him. Not only that, they had made the connection between Mendoza and Ortega, and it wouldn't be long before they tracked one or both of them down. This was supposed to be Westbrook's case and he wasn't going to let that bunch of hotshot cowboys make him look like an ass again. He needed to think of something. Getting his old job back depended on it. Getting out of Dallas depended on it.

Westbrook knew he had an ace in the hole. Lori Bennett had informed him that Ranger Cooke was, indeed, still alive, and was being hidden in a cabin on the Cherokee reservation. Walker must have stashed her there while investigating who blew up her house. The question was why, and how could Westbrook use that ace to his advantage.

Westbrook thought for a while and then made a series of phone calls. The first to his assistant asking her to set up a meeting with all of the agents in the Dallas office the next morning, and the next few were to the local newspapers and TV stations letting them know he would be holding a press conference the next afternoon.

The next morning, Agent Westbrook stood in front of a conference room full of Dallas FBI agents. On a screen behind him was a picture of Victor Ortega.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've received some very credible information that Victor Ortega is responsible for the explosion that killed a Texas Ranger. We are going to go public with this information today in an attempt to smoke him out. I'm going to make the announcement that he is the FBI's main suspect in the case in a press conference later this afternoon. It's expected that once we make this announcement, Ortega will try to escape to his family's home, Casa Diablo, in Mexico. We've already alerted border patrol as well as the Mexican authorities so they know to watch for him and we will be staking out the most likely route we expect him to take. We hope to have Ortega in custody within the next thirty-six hours."

"Hey Walker, take a look at this," Trivette motioned to the TV over the bar at CD's where he, Walker, and Gage were waiting for Alex to join them for lunch.

Walker looked up to see Westbrook on the television. It looked like he was holding some type of press conference on the steps of the Dallas Federal Building. Walker grabbed the remote off the bar and turned up the volume.

' _The FBI has identified a key suspect in last month's explosion at the home of Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke.'_

The reporters gathered on the steps began to shout questions. Westbrook waved them down and held up a picture, continuing to speak.

' _We've discovered credible evidence placing this man, Victor Ortega, at the scene. We expect to have an arrest soon.'_

"What the hell is he doing?" Walker muttered.

In a house outside of Dallas, Marco Mendoza called Victor Ortega over to look at the TV. Westbrook was taking questions from reporters about the explosion and the evidence that put Ortega at the scene.

' _No, I'm sorry, we can't elaborate on the evidence.'_

' _Is there any word on a memorial service for Ranger Cooke?'_

' _Actually, we've discovered that Ranger Cooke was not killed in the explosion as first thought. It's now suspected that Victor Ortega may be holding her at a remote location near the Cherokee Reservation.'_

"Oh, really," Victor Ortega smirked at the TV. "Marco. I thought you said she was dead the second she opened her door? What went wrong?"

"I don't know, Victor. I don't know."

Victor crossed the room and opened a desk drawer. Pulling out a gun, he checked the magazine and held the gun out, aiming it and clicking off the safety. "Marco."

Marco turned to him. Victor smiled, clicked the safety back on and tucked the gun into his waistband. "Marco. Get the car. We're going on a little road trip."

Walker couldn't believe what he heard. Nobody but he, Alex, and David Jackson knew where Sydney was, and now Westbrook had just jeopardized her safety, announcing to the entire Dallas area that she was alive and hiding on the reservation. Beside him, Gage sat open-mouthed, staring at the TV.

When Gage could finally speak, he turned to Walker. "What the hell is he talking about?"

Walker grabbed his Stetson off the chair beside him. "Gage, you're riding with me. Trivette, follow us. We have to get to the reservation before Ortega does."


	6. Chapter 6

"What did he mean, Sydney is alive? What's going on, Walker?" Gage asked, as Walker pointed the Dodge truck down the highway toward the reservation with the gas pedal to the floor, lights flashing and siren screaming.

Walker explained what happened the night of the explosion at Sydney's house, from Alex finding her at the HOPE Center, to what Sydney told him she heard while hiding in the garage in the alley.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? I spent the last month thinking she was dead, Walker, and all this time she was alive? I was going through hell, damn it! You and Trivette stood by and watched me suffer. You could have told me." Gage slammed his fist against the door of the truck.

"Easy, Gage. Trivette didn't know anything either. We had no idea who these men were at the time, and if they were watching the hospitals for Sydney to show up that night, I'm sure they were watching your place for her to show up there, too. Hiding her on the reservation was the best and safest thing to do until we could find out who was after her."

"I could have protected her, Walker. You could have put both of us in a safe house if we were in danger. She would have been safe with me."

"No, Gage, she wouldn't. Sydney heard Victor threaten you. He threatened all of us. I did the best thing for everyone involved. She was hurt and we couldn't take her to a hospital, so I took her to my cousin David who is a doctor on the reservation. I knew it wasn't likely that anyone would find her there, so we hid her in my Uncle Ray's old cabin. She's been safe ever since, and she'd probably still be safe if Westbrook hadn't pulled that little stunt."

"You just thought she was safe, Walker. How did Westbrook find her if she was so damn safe?"

"I have no idea, Gage."

"If anything happens to her, Walker, it's not just Westbrook's fault. You know that, right? You know I'm holding you responsible."

"Gage –"

"I mean it, Walker. You put her there. You better hope she's okay," Gage growled.

Gage sat in silence the rest of the way to the reservation, a rage inside him continuing to build as his thoughts raced. Friends he had trusted had kept information from him about the woman he loved, letting him think she was dead while she was, in fact, very much alive and now in serious danger. Those same friends didn't trust him to protect Sydney. He recalled memories of riding across Mexico to Casa Diablo to rescue Syd from the Ortega brothers, worrying about what they might have done to her, and now there was the fear of what Victor Ortega would do to her. And at the far corners of his mind lurked one nagging thought that he couldn't shake: if Sydney was in danger, why didn't she go to him first? The thought twisted and turned and danced with the rage that had already established itself in his head and heart. Syd had to know he'd do anything to protect her, didn't she? No length, not even death, was too great to go to keep her safe, yet she still ran. Why?

Walker stopped the truck short of the clearing where the cabin was located. He and Gage jumped out of the truck, joined by Trivette who had followed them. The three rangers crept up onto the cabin with guns pulled, hiding behind trees and brush.

"Sydney!" Walker called out.

The cabin door kicked open. Victor Ortega had Sydney firmly by her hair, her hands tied in front of her. He pushed her out of the cabin ahead of him, holding a gun to her head. Gage's breath caught in his throat. It was true! Sydney was alive!

"Walker? Where are you hiding, Walker? Don't come any closer, or I will kill her this time."

"Let her go, Ortega."

"Not a chance. She killed my father. You rangers destroyed my family. It's time to pay back what you owe the Ortega name."

Walker motioned to Trivette and Gage to cover him and he disappeared into the woods. He moved stealthily through the trees, stopping to collect a couple rocks that he put in his pockets. He eased around to the back of the cabin and climbed the alternating logs at the back corner to the roof. Once on the roof, and above Victor and Sydney, he threw the rocks into the woods to the side of the cabin.

The noise distracted Victor for a moment and Sydney felt him loosen his grip on her hair. She stomped her foot down hard on his, and when he backed away from her, she swung around, grasping her hands together and hitting him hard on the jaw. Stunned by the surprise hit, Victor let go of her entirely and Sydney dropped her clenched hands down on Victor's wrist, causing him to lose his hold on the gun. Freed from Victor's grasp, Sydney ran, kicking the gun away from him as she escaped him.

As soon as he saw Sydney break free from Ortega, Gage ran toward him, tackling him against the cabin wall. Ortega landed a punch on Gage's jaw and Gage struck back with a kick to the man's gut and dropped an elbow down onto the man's shoulders. Ortega hit the ground and rolled. He stood and ran toward Gage, but Gage was waiting with a roundhouse kick that knocked Ortega backwards and flat on the ground. Gage dragged Ortega up on his knees and started pummeling him, pounding out the rage that had built up and filled him on the drive to the reservation.

From the trees, Sydney watched as she used her teeth to try to untie the knotted rope around her wrists.

Trivette ran to her. "Syd, Where's Marco?"

"Marco? I never saw him. I only saw Victor."

Movement caught her eye. Marco had stepped around the corner of the cabin with his arm raised, pointing a gun at Gage. Trivette saw him, too, and pointed his gun.

"Gage!" Sydney screamed as the gunshots rang out.

Sydney saw Gage flinch and hit the ground. "Gage! No!" she screamed again, running toward him.

Ortega shook his head, slowly standing and coming to his senses. Bending over, he reached under his pant leg and pulled a knife from a sheath on his boot. He stood suddenly, raising the knife to throw at Sydney.

The moment Victor Ortega stood back up and raised the knife, Walker leaped off the roof, landing on top of him. Ortega landed on his knife, dying instantly.

"Syd!" Trivette yelled. "Syd, stay down!" Holding his gun at the ready, Trivette darted from tree to tree to the corner of the cabin where Marco had shot from. He found Marco on the ground, a single gunshot wound to his chest. Trivette checked his pulse and found none.

Sydney knelt on the ground next to Gage holding both his hands in hers.

"Are you okay?" Gage asked her, "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine." Sydney answered. "It's you I'm worried about." She lifted his shirt to look at the wound on his side. It didn't look deep, but there was a lot more blood than she wanted to see.

Walker checked on his team. Seeing the blood on Gage's shirt, he helped the junior ranger to his feet and motioned to Trivette. "Let's get him out of here, I know someone who can help him."

Together, they helped Gage to Walker's truck and drove back to David Jackson's office on the reservation with Sydney following in Trivette's car. As they pulled in front of David's office, sirens and flashing lights grabbed the rangers' attention. Westbrook and several other FBI agents came flying up the street; dust flying, cars fishtailing.

"Well, here comes the cavalry," Walker said dryly.

Westbrook slammed his car to a stop and got out, striding up to stand chest to chest with Walker.

"A little late to the party, aren't you, Westbrook?" Walker quipped.

"Where are they?" Westbrook demanded.

"Who?"

"Don't mess with me, Walker. Ortega and Mendoza, that's who."

"Oh, the ones you knew nothing about? I'd say they're on their way to the coroner's office about now," Walker replied, turning to help Gage into David's office.

Westbrook grabbed Walker's arm. "This was the FBI's case. You overstepped, Ranger. I'm going to have a talk with Briscoe about you."

Walker jerked his arm away. "That's nothing like the talk I plan to have with the Director of the FBI about you. You gave us false information about a suspect, you went public with information you were not authorized to speak about, and you put Ranger Cooke's life in danger. You should be fired for what you did, and I'm going to do everything in my power to see that you are. Briscoe will back me up every step of the way."

Westbrook pushed on. "Don't forget, Walker, there's still that little bit of unfinished business about assaulting a federal agent back there on the border that I can get you for, too."

"Oh, you mean like this," Gage spoke up as he stepped up to Westbrook and punched the FBI agent square on the jaw. "Go to hell," Gage snarled as he turned and let Walker help him into David Jackson's office.

"That was a clear-cut case of assault," Westbrook said, turning to Trivette, "You're my witness."

"Don't look at me," Trivette replied, suddenly interested in something under his thumbnail. "I didn't see a thing this time, either."

Sydney sat on the hood of Trivette's car waiting for Gage to come out of David's office. She was exhausted after the last few weeks and all she wanted was to get back to Dallas and spend the night wrapped up in Gage's arms.

Gage walked out of the converted storefront, followed by David Jackson. Gage was pulling his t-shirt down over a large piece of gauze taped over his left side.

"Just a graze," David said. "It'll heal in no time."

"Oh, thank God," Sydney reached up to hug Gage and was shocked when he pulled away.

"Gage?"

"Just don't, Syd. It's been a long damn day and I'm tired."

"I don't understand. I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"I am happy to see you."

"Funny way of showing it," Sydney's voice had a bitter edge to it.

"Syd. Why didn't you come to me when you were in trouble?"

"Gage, I couldn't. I heard Victor and Marco in the alley and they said if they found me, they'd kill me. Not only that, they'd kill everyone else. Walker, Alex, Angela. Jimmy and Erika. And you. They said they'd kill you, too! I couldn't let that happen."

"But you went to Walker and not me."

"I did not go to Walker. I was trying to figure out what to do. I was trying to break into the HOPE Center. I didn't know Alex was there. She found me and she convinced me to tell Walker. I really didn't have much choice. I was hurt and couldn't go to a hospital because they were watching the hospitals and Walker said they were probably watching you too. What else could I do? Walker brought me here to see David and he knew I'd be safe here. He was only trying to help."

Gage rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Down the street, Walker and Trivette leaned against the bed of Walker's truck and watched the two junior rangers. "Do you think they're okay?" Trivette asked.

"They'll figure it out." Walker replied wisely.

Syd reached out and brushed her fingertips down Gage's chest. Her touch was like a lightning bolt through his core. Gage grabbed her hand.

"I spent a month thinking you were dead. It was hell, Syd. Hell."

Sydney's heart broke for the man she had been in love with from the moment she had first laid eyes on him. "I'm so sorry, baby. I just couldn't let anything happen to you. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. I knew that you could survive without me, but if anything would have happened to you, there was no way I could have survived without you." Syd looked up at the handsome blond ranger, searching his ocean blue eyes while her own eyes welled with tears.

"You call what I did the last month surviving? That's damned selfish of you, Syd," Gage's voice was cold.

"Gage, it wasn't just for me. It was for the two co-workers whose backs you have every single day," Sydney pointed down the street toward Walker and Trivette. "It was for their wives – my two best friends – who trust you to help get them home safe to them every single night. It was for a little girl who adores her Uncle Gage. It was for your sister who has already dealt with enough loss in her life without losing you, too. It wasn't just for me, Gage. It really wasn't about me at all."

"Syd, I just wish you would have come to me. I would have taken care of you, protected you, kept you safe. From the moment we met, it's all I ever wanted to do" Gage spoke softly. "You know, those words, everything I just said just now, were part of my wedding vows." Gage turned and walked a few steps away.

"Gage," Sydney's voice broke as the tears she'd been holding back let loose. "Do you still want to marry me?"

Gage stopped and turned around. In about three steps, he was back in front of her, crushing her to him, holding her, burying his face in the silk of her hair. He kissed her hair, her forehead, her eyelids, tasting her salty tears. Finally he reached her lips, tasting the sweetness that up until earlier that day he had thought he'd lost forever.

"Oh, God, Syd. Yes. More than anything, I still want to marry you."

They stayed wrapped together, Syd still sitting on the hood of the car, her arms curled around Gage's neck, her fingers twisted in his hair, Gage's hands on either side of her face, kissing her as though each kiss could bring back every lost minute of the month they had been apart.

Down the street, Walker strode around to the driver's side of his truck. "We ought to get going," he told Trivette.

"And break up that happy reunion?"

"I'm pretty sure they'll find their way home." Walker grinned.

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING ALONG SO FAR! I HAVE ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO - IF YOU ARE A SYDNEY AND GAGE FAN, STAY TUNED! I THINK YOU WILL LIKE WHAT I HAVE IN MIND FOR HOW THIS STORY ENDS!**_


	7. Chapter 7

That weekend, Alex and Walker hosted a cookout to celebrate Sydney's homecoming.

"I sure hope you have enough burgers," Trivette joked as he helped Walker get the charcoal started. "Where are Gage and Sydney, anyhow?"

"My guess is they're still celebrating Sydney's return from the dead, and they're probably on GST," Walker replied.

"GST?"

"Gage Standard Time." Walker answered with a chuckle, referring to the junior ranger's issue with punctuality.

Sydney and Gage arrived a few minutes later to warm embraces and and welcomes from their friends. As they sat down for lunch, Erika asked Sydney what she and Gage had decided to do about the wedding.

"We're still trying to figure that out," Sydney said with a sigh. "All those plans –" She stopped short, frowning, thinking of all the work she and Gage had done to put together their dream wedding.

"Whatever we do, Shorty, it'll still be perfect," Gage reassured her, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.

"Well, just what do you need to do? Maybe we can help you get things back on track," Trivette offered.

"The reception hall and the church will be booked solid for months now," Sydney replied, "and we probably won't have any better luck with the caterer, the bakery, or the florist. Besides, after everything that happened, I just don't feel right having a big wedding. "

"So, why don't you do something small right here at the ranch?" Walker suggested.

"I may know a judge that might be willing to help us out," Alex added.

Erika and Alex then both began speaking at once, volleying ideas back and forth on where to come up with flowers, food, and a cake on short notice. They decided they could have a wedding planned for three weeks from that day.

"Well, that's fine, but where will I find a dress in three weeks?" Sydney asked, remembering how long it took her to find her original wedding gown, not to mention all the appointments for fittings.

"Maybe your boss can give you tomorrow off so we can do some dress shopping." Alex winked at her husband.

Sydney picked Angela up and held the tiny blond-haired toddler on her lap.

"And how about you, sweetheart? Are you still going to be my flower girl?" she cooed to the little girl.

Angela pursed her lips. "Nooooo," she pouted defiantly, shaking her head and making her blond ringlets dance. "No flower girl, Aunt Sydee! Batman!" She exclaimed, holding her arms wide as if she were extending an imaginary cape.

Everyone laughed. Gage looked at Sydney and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, Shorty, she seems to have her heart set on being Batman. Maybe we can compromise?"

The next three weeks were a whirlwind of activity. A tent would be set up at the Walker ranch complete with chairs, tables, and even a dance floor to accommodate the ceremony and the reception afterwards. Arrangements were made with a caterer and a florist, and Connie Jensen, who was famous among the Company B rangers for her fabulous desserts, had offered to bake a wedding cake when it seemed no bakery could manage the short notice. Tuxedos were foregone in exchange for dark suits for the men, which was more fitting for the less formal setting. Guests were contacted, Julie would be flying in from California just in time for the new date; everything was falling perfectly into place.

Alex put in a call to an old family friend, Judge Lewis Lockard, to see if he'd preside over the ceremony. Lockard had served many years as a judge in Tarrant County and in his long career, he had many couples stand in front of him to take their vows. Since retiring from the bench, he preferred to spend his time on the lake uniting bait and bass. He had to admit, though, that the assistant district attorney was certainly persistent, and when he heard who was getting married, he couldn't possibly say no. He had followed Sydney's story in the news and was pleased that he would get to play a part in her story's happy ending.

Sydney awoke the morning of her wedding filled with anticipation. She had spent the night at the Walker ranch and was surprised she had even been able to sleep, she was so excited.

Erika arrived early to help Sydney with her hair. She had decided not to wear a veil, so Erika got to work arranging Sydney's long, dark locks into a soft updo accented with tiny pearls.

"Will you sit still, Syd?" Erika pleaded.

"I can't help it, Erika, I'm too excited to sit!"

Alex walked in with a tray full of fruit, rolls, coffee, and juice. "Anyone want breakfast?"

"I'm too excited to eat!" Sydney wailed.

"Well you better try to eat. We don't want you passing out during the service." Erika chastised her friend.

"No, and you don't want me throwing up during it, either, do you?" Sydney retorted. "Is Julie here yet?"

"She'll be here in about fifteen minutes," Alex informed her friend.

"Well, thank God she doesn't have her brother's inability to – " Sydney's eyes and mouth both flew open wide. "Oh my God, Alex! Please tell me somebody is going to make sure Gage is here on time!"

"Jimmy is on it," Alex reassured her, setting a cup of coffee and a plate with a roll and some fruit in front of Sydney. Erika promptly took the cup of coffee away.

"No coffee," she said, laughing. "The last thing this girl needs is coffee!"

Trivette knocked on the door to Gage's apartment. "Gage? Gage? Let's go, man, time to get hitched!" There was no response.

Trivette knocked again. "Gage? If you don't answer the door, I'm going to kick it down. You have a wedding to get to."

Trivette was just ready to kick the door in when Gage opened it. "Hey, Jimmy! I thought I heard someone out here!"

"Man, what took you so long?" Trivette asked, annoyed.

"I thought I lost the rings!"

"Please tell me you didn't!" Trivette slapped his hand to his forehead, exasperated.

"Nope! Found them!"

"Well, let's get a move on, then!"

"They can't start without me, Jimmy."

"Yeah, tell that to Syd. If you're late, she's going to hurt both of us." Trivette said, leading Gage out the door.

Erika and Julie helped ease Sydney's wedding gown over her head and then helped to button the row of buttons up the back. When Sydney stepped back in front of the mirror, she was speechless. She had tried it on in the dress shop, but that didn't compare to the image she saw looking back at her in the mirror. This new dress was nothing like the one she had first chosen, but she had to admit that its simple lines were more her style. From the cap sleeves and lacy, fitted bodice adorned with clusters of sequins and tiny pearls to the long taffeta skirt that draped and flared softly, the dress she found on a rack at a dress shop Alex recommended seemed to be custom-made for her.

"Oh, my," was all she could say when she finally spoke.

"You look stunning," Julie commented. "I can't wait to see the look on my brother's face when he sees you!"

From down the hall, they could two-year-old Angela crying. Her cries grew louder and more intense until it was apparent that the feisty toddler was in the throes of a full-blown tantrum.

"Uh-oh. " Erika cringed. "I think Alex was dressing Angela. Doesn't sound like it's going well. Maybe I should go help."

"Sydney," Julie approached her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "I brought this for you."

Julie held out a worn, blue velvet bag. "I thought you could wear them today, maybe as your something old?"

Sydney opened the bag to find a three-strand pearl choker. "Julie! This is gorgeous!"

"It was our mother's," Julie explained. "I think Francis told you about the aunt that wanted to take us in but could only afford one of us? When she passed away, she left her estate, what little there was of it, to me. What she did have were these pearls and a picture of Mom on her wedding day. She was wearing them. I had hoped to wear them when I got married, but since that hasn't happened yet, I thought it was only fitting that you should have them."

"Tell you what, Julie, how about I consider them my something borrowed, too, and I'll give them back so you can wear them on your wedding day. Fair enough?"

Julie nodded and Sydney hugged her, so happy that she and Julie had become friends as well as sisters.

Erika and Alex came back in the room with a pouting, red-faced Angela in tow. Angela was dressed in a frilly white dress with a navy sash that matched the navy blue dresses Alex, Erika, and Julie wore. She had lacy white socks and white patent leather shoes to match and looked simply adorable. Sydney knelt down beside her, kissed her forehead and told her she looked just like a princess. Angela broke her pout for a moment and smiled up at Sydney.

"Aunt Sydee, Unca Gades said I can be Batman!"

"Oh, he did, huh?"

"Yep. Batman!"

Alex laughed. "It was the only way she'd stop throwing a fit."

Alex then noticed the pearl choker around Sydney's neck. "Oh my goodness! What a beautiful set of pearls!"

Sydney explained the story behind them. "So now I have my something old and something borrowed, and my dress is my something new. All I need is something blue."

"Which would be this," Erika handed her a blue satin and lace garter, "And don't forget the lucky penny for your shoe!" she added, handing her a shiny new penny that Sydney dropped into her shoe.

"Well, girls? Let's go get me married!" Sydney grabbed her bouquet of ivory roses off the dresser and all but ran out the door.

Gage, Walker, and Trivette were waiting on the porch of Walker's house. Gage had adjusted his tie about ten times and had asked Trivette if he had the rings at least twenty times.

"Gage, relax. I have them. I didn't lose them in the last five minutes!" Trivette fussed back at him.

"I can't help it. I'm nervous. I've never gotten married before."

"Well, there's nothing to it," Walker told him. "All you have to do is make sure you don't do anything to take the attention off the bride."

Gage was still for a few minutes and then a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, guys. Syd still does want to marry me, right?"

"Of course she does!" Trivette replied. "In fact, I'm going to check on the girls right now and make sure Syd didn't run out the back!" He and Walker both laughed.

"That's not funny, Trivette!"

Trivette went into the house, leaving Walker and Gage on the porch.

"Walker, I want to thank you for all you've done for Syd and me for today. This means more to us than you'll ever know."

"Alex and I are more than happy to do this, Gage. You and Sydney are a part of our family."

"And I wanted to apologize to you for the things I said that day we went to the reservation. I know you never would have intentionally put Syd in any kind of danger. I was just worried about her. I should have known better," Gage said, his voice serious.

"I understand, Gage. No harm was done. It was a hard thing to do, not being able to tell you what was going on, but I needed to keep Syd and you safe."

"I know. I'm really sorry for not seeing that back then."

"I'm really sorry for all the pain it caused you, making you think she was gone," Walker said regretfully.

"It's okay, Walker. I'm just happy she's back, and I don't plan to let her out of my sight ever again."

Gage held out his hand, waiting for Walker to accept it in a handshake. Instead, Walker hugged the junior ranger.

Finally, it was time to walk down the aisle. Waiting outside the tent as the music played and her friends walked down the aisle between the tables, Sydney closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking of the events that had led to this day.

"Everything okay, Syd?" Walker asked.

"Everything's fine," she replied, taking Walker's arm as they stepped inside the tent and waited as Angela walked down the aisle toward her mother, dropping flower petals carefully as she went to a chorus of oooh's and ahhh's from the guests.

Then the music changed and everyone stood as Walker escorted Sydney down the aisle to give her away.

"Oh, wow," Gage breathed the moment he first saw Sydney in her wedding dress. She was absolutely radiant. When they reached the front of the tent, Gage took Sydney's hand from Walker's and leaned over to give her a quick kiss, much to the amusement of Judge Lockard.

"Just a minute, young man. That part comes at the end of the ceremony!" Lockard admonished while the guests twittered with laughter.

"Sorry, Judge, I just couldn't help myself," Gage apologized with a big grin.

The judge welcomed their guests and spoke a bit about love and commitment. He then asked for Sydney and Gage to recite their vows to each other. Sydney spoke first.

"Francis, from the moment we met, I knew my life would never be the same. Finding you was like finding the missing piece to my puzzle. We've been perfect partners at work, and I couldn't ask for a more perfect partner to spend the rest of my life with. Whatever our future has in store for us, as long as we have each other, we can get through it because we are strongest together. You are my happily ever after and I will love you for all the rest of my days."

Gage raised the back of Sydney's hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across it before he spoke.

"Sydney, when I was faced with the thought of living my life without you, I realized just how empty my life would be, and just how much I wouldn't want to face a future without you in it. You are all I have ever dreamed of, and when I fell in love with you, I fell heart and soul. All I have ever wanted to do is protect you, take care of you, keep you safe, and make you happy. For as long as I live, I promise to do just that and to love you with all I have."

Sydney smiled up at Gage, tears of joy welling up and spilling over from her deep brown eyes. Gage cupped her face with his hands and brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, feeling overcome with emotion himself.

Judge Lockard continued, and the couple before him said their I do's and placed the rings on each other's fingers.

"And with the power vested in me by the great state of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now, Francis, now you may kiss your bride!" Judge Lockard finished, smiling at Gage, knowing that the handsome young ranger in front of him had been anxiously waiting for this moment.

Wrapping one arm around Sydney's slender waist and tilting her chin up to him with his other hand, Gage bent to meet Sydney's sweet lips with his as her arms encircled his neck. For a moment, it seemed to Gage that nobody else was anywhere around; just him and Sydney and that long-awaited, perfect kiss that sealed their union, and he was completely fine with that.

Sydney and Gage shared their first dance surrounded by the small gathering of friends and family. As she swayed to the sound of George Strait's voice in the arms of the man she had fallen in love with in a dingy apartment on the first day of a nine-month undercover assignment long ago, Sydney thought to herself that this was what blissful happiness felt like.

Later, after their guests had been greeted and thanked, a delicious dinner had been enjoyed, and the cake had been cut, Sydney and her bridesmaids shared a moment together while watching her new husband twirling Angela around on the dance floor. The tiny flower girl was now sporting miniature Batman ears over her curly blond hair and a little black cape was tied over her frilly white dress.

"How did he talk both of you into that?" Julie asked Alex and Sydney, laughing as she pointed her camera at her brother and the giggling toddler.

"If it got Angela to quit crying this morning, I would have let her walk down the aisle in the whole costume if Sydney would have been okay with it," joked Alex.

"Sometimes you just have to compromise," Sydney added.

"Well, that is the most adorable thing ever! Please tell me you plan on having babies with that man," Erika teased.

"Oh, I do," Sydney smiled, "Starting tonight!"

"Sydney!" all three women exclaimed, giggling like schoolgirls.

Gage walked over to the women carrying Angela on his shoulder. "Alex, I think my dance partner had a little too much dancing," he said as he handed the yawning child over to her mother.

He then turned to Sydney, holding out his hand. "Do you want to dance?"

"I thought you didn't like to dance." Sydney teased.

"Only with some people." Gage replied with a smile.

Sydney took his hand and followed him out onto the dance floor.

"Happy wedding day, Mrs. Gage," he said, kissing her softly.

"Happy wedding day to you, too," Sydney replied, kissing him back.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your dream wedding, Syd."

Sydney stopped him before he could continue. "You know, Gage, I don't know what I was thinking. All those months of planning for that big wedding, and today was the wedding I had wanted all along. Nothing could have been more perfect."

"Really?"

"Really. Just you and me and our closest friends and family. That was all we really needed. And funny thing is, it didn't matter if it was a big wedding or a small wedding. I still get to be married to the most wonderful man at the end of the day."

Gage bowed his head to kiss Sydney, thinking she was pretty wonderful herself.

"I love you, Shorty."

"I love you more, baby." Sydney replied, standing on tiptoe to wrap her arms around Gage's neck and kissing her new husband one more time.


End file.
